'Iconic' Singapore Indoor Stadium should be preserved amid plans for new arena, say experts

SINGAPORE: While the Singapore Indoor Stadium holds fond memories of major concerts and sporting events for many, one of architectural photographer Darren Soh's earliest impressions of the arena was markedly different, but no less impactful.

The year was 1998 and Mr Soh, then an intern with The Straits Times paper, had been assigned to photograph a condolence wall memorialising the SilkAir flight MI185 crash which killed all on board. 

"There were thousands of flowers lying on the outside of the Indoor Stadium ... I photographed someone who was bowing," he told CNA. "Covering that … gave me a sense of purpose, for someone who was so young."

Decades later, the fate of the Indoor Stadium is now up in the air, after it was announced last Thursday (Mar 7) that the authorities were planning to build a new arena adjacent to it.

The yet unnamed venue will be "among the best-in-class globally", Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong told parliament.

Plans are in their early stages and the Indoor Stadium, which officially opened on the last day of 1989, will continue to operate until the new arena is ready.

Asked to elaborate on these plans, the Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) told CNA on Friday that it was "vital" for Singapore to refresh its infrastructure and hardware to stay ahead of the competition and aim to continue being a premium destination for events.

In coming up with the new arena, MCCY will work with "domain experts" to study its various options "leading to an eventual design and other parameters", a spokesperson added.

Construction of the Singapore Indoor Stadium - to replace Geylang Indoor Stadium - began in 1987. It cost about S$90 million to build, and is one of Asia's tallest